The Coriolis Effect:

The Coriolis Effect Defined:

What in the World is it? The Coriolis Effect was a difficult problem that people dealt with for many years. In the warship in the early 1800's this one guy discovered the issue by shooting canyon balls into the ocean. For this reason Gaspard Gustave de Coriolis worked this situation and named it the Coriolis Effect, which consist of how the speed is much, much faster in the Equator than in the points of the poles.

Warm Air Rises and Cold Air Falls- Why?All the effects from this shows that the Coriolis Effect warms air into a less dense atmosphere an rises up. Meanwhile the Cold Air is more dense and goes down. Because of this, the temperature in the air is higher than in the poles , and on the other hand the temperature is more cold than the equator.

What is the general pattern of wind currents on the globe?Wind is the flow of air between areas of high and low pressure. If Earth did not rotate, air in the atmosphere would basically circulate in a simple back-and-forth pattern between the poles (high pressure areas) and the equator (a low pressure area). The direction of surface currents would then align with this general wind pattern. But because Earth rotates, circulating air is deflected toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the Southern Hemisphere, resulting in curved paths.What is a convection current? The warming of the air over the equator sets up a convection current that moves warmer tropical air towards the poles and draws cooler polar air towards the equator. This warmer air creates an area of low pressure as it rises. As this warmer air cools, it creates an area of high pressure.

Global circulation is driven by which two processes? The circulation of wind in the atmosphere is driven by the rotation of the earth and the incoming energy from the sun. Wind circulates in each hemisphere in three distinct cells which help transport energy and heat from the equator to the poles. The winds are driven by the energy from the sun at the surface as warm air rises and colder air sinks.

Notes:

Pressure:The exertion of force upon a surface by an object, fluid, etc., in contact with it: the pressure of earth against a wall.

Putting it All Together:

Define and explain~

Hadley Cells:The circulation cell closest to the equator is called the Hadley cell. Winds are light at the equator because of the weak horizontal pressure gradients located there. The warm surface conditions result in locally low pressure. The warm air rises at the equator producing clouds and causing instability in the atmosphere.This instability causes thunderstorms to develop and release large amounts of latent heat. Latent heat is just energy released by the storms due to changes from water vapor to liquid water droplets as the vapor condenses in the clouds, causing the surrounding air to become more warm and moist, which essentially provides the energy to drive the Hadley cell.

Polar Cells:In the cells nearest the poles, the Polar cells, air sinks at the poles, flows outward along the surface, rises near latitude 60° in both hemispheres, and flows back to the poles at high altitudes.

Ferrel Cells:The Ferrel cell, theorized by William Ferrel (1817–1891), is a secondary circulation feature, dependent for its existence upon the Hadley cell and the Polar cell. It behaves much as an atmospheric ball bearing between the Hadley cell and the Polar cell, and comes about as a result of the eddy circulations (the high and low pressure areas) of the mid-latitudes. For this reason it is sometimes known as the "zone of mixing." At its southern extent (in the Northern hemisphere), it overrides the Hadley cell, and at its northern extent, it overrides the Polar cell. Just as the Trade Winds can be found below the Hadley cell, the Westerlies can be found beneath the Ferrel cell. Thus, strong high pressure areas which divert the prevailing westerlies, such as a Siberian high (which could be considered an extension of the Arctic high), could be said to override the Ferrel cell, making it discontinuous.

Horse Latitudes:Horse latitudes are areas of high atmospheric pressure and little surface wind that is subtropical dry bands centered around the 30 degree mark of the intersection of the Hadely and Farrel cells.

Doldrums:The doldrums is a low-pressure area around the equator where the prevailing winds are calm. The low pressure is caused by the heat at the equator, which makes the air rise and travel north and south high in the atmosphere, until it subsides again in the horse latitudes. Some of that air returns to the doldrums through the trade winds. This process can lead to light or variable winds and more severe weather, in the form of squalls, thunderstorms and hurricanes.

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